Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2007-08: Christian Thomas was chosen by the London Knights in the first round of the 2008 OHL Priority Selection. Son of former NHL player, Steve Thomas.

2008-09: Began his OHL rookie season with the London Knights, playing in 32 gsmes for that club. Thomas scored 4 goals and added 7 assists for 11 points. He was traded to the Oshawa Generals in the deal that sent John Tavares to London. In 27 games for the Generals, Thomas scored 4 goals and added 10 assists.

2009-10: In his first full season with the Generals, Thomas picked up 41 goals and added 25 assists for 66 points in 64 games. Thomas was chosen in the second round, 40th overall, of the 2010 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers.

2010-11: Thomas was the leading scorer for a resurgent Oshawa Generals club that returned the OHL playoffs after a two-year absence. Thomas scored 54 goals with 45 assists and was +20 with 38 PMs in 66 games for the Generals. He scored 19 goals on the power play. In 10 OHL playoff games Thomas scored 4 of his 9 goals on the power play and had 9 assists. He finished +8 in the playoffs with 4 PMs.

2011-12: Thomas made his pro hockey debut, joining Rangers’ AHL affiliate Connecticut after skating for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was minus-one in five regular season games and was plus-two with no points or penalty minutes in six playoff games. Thomas was the Generals leading scorer after a slow start. He struggled with the Rangers’ prospects at the Traverse City Tournament and then receive a 10-game OHL suspension in October. Thomas was a big part of Oshawa’s late playoff push, finishing with 34 goals and 33 assists in 55 games and had an even plus-minus with 12 penalty minutes. In the six-game playoff series with Niagara he scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was minus-three with 4 penalty minutes.

2012-13: Thomas made his first (and only) NHL appearance with the Rangers as a 20-year-old in a February 23rd game at Montreal, seeing 12:46 minutes of ice time with no points or penalty minutes in a 3-0 loss. He scored 19 goals in 73 AHL games for New York affiliate Connecticut, third most on the team, and was +5 with 16 assists and 15 penalty minutes. The Whale missed the AHL playoffs by two points despite finishing second in the Northeast Division. Montreal acquired Thomas from the Rangers in exchange for Danny Kristo in a July, 2013 trade.

Talent Analysis

Thomas is an undersized, high skill forward, with excellent speed and outstanding hands. He has the potential to be an elite scorer in the NHL, however, he will need to build greater body strength to be successful in the NHL.

Future

Thomas should compete for a top-six position at the AHL level in Hamilton and see time on the team's power play. He's expected to help provide more offensive production for the Bulldogs this coming season. The skilled winger could be used as a possible injury replacement for the Canadiens this year depending on his play in Hamilton.

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Photo: Forward Kyle Jean is one of many Rangers prospects who brings a lot of size and toughness to the organization. (Photo courtesy of Fred Kfoury/Icon SMI)

There are 11 "home grown" players currently on the New York Rangers' roster, including former first round selection Chris Kreider, who played with the AHL Connecticut Whale as recently as January. Of the Rangers prospects currently on the Connecticut Whale roster, there are two former first round picks (Dylan McIlrath and J.T. Miller), one second round selection (Christian Thomas), and seven rookies overall.

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Photo: Drafted 10th overall in 2010, Dylan McIlrath brings size and toughness to the Rangers blue line. McIlrath has yet to suit up this season due to a knee injury suffered this past summer. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The New York Rangers have become one of the NHL teams that rely most on good player development. As the result of a rebuild that lasted at least half of the last decade, close to half of the players on the 2011-12 roster had either been drafted or signed as free agents out of junior hockey.

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Photo: Selected 28th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft, defenseman Brady Skjei could be the next in an ever growing line of talented, mobile Rangers defensemen. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

After several years with a very strong group of prospects, the New York Rangers have graduated a lot of home-grown talent to the NHL team. The system remains strong defensively, but the only potential star in the system is winger Chris Kreider. Organizational depth in goaltending remains a weakness, with only Jason Missiaen and Scott Stajcer among the netminding prospects.

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Photo: Though he started the 2011-12 season in the AHL, two-way winger Carl Hagelin finished it in the NHL on a line with stars Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik. (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

The New York Rangers' prospects had an excellent season, as the fruits of the changes in drafting philosophy continue to bear fruit. The awards include three first round selections and two picks from the 2011 entry draft.

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Photo: Freddie Hamilton is one of several players to have been selected in the mid-to-late rounds of the NHL Draft who now look like they could down the road be solid NHLers. (Photo courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

The list of Top 10 OHL wingers features a few players who were taken in the first-round of the NHL Draft, but there are also several players who went in later rounds yet have exceeded expectations and become quality NHL prospects.

The following 10 players are all property of NHL teams and all figure to make an impact for their respective organizations in the near future.